Once Upon a Victory
by chasingafterstarlight
Summary: Four girls, four fairytales, and so many things yet to be found out. The forces of evil send four princesses to a land with no happy endings, a land with no magic - our world. Placed under a curse, the princesses can't remember their true selves or their past lives. That is, until Cat Valentine finds a book and everything begins to change. / Contains mentions of multiple pairings.
1. Chapter 1: Cat (Little Red)

Once Upon a Victory

_Chapter 1: Cat Valentine (Little Red)_

/

It all started with a book. That, in case you haven't noticed, is how a lot of things get started. Once things are put into print, they are, for all intents and purposes, permanent, and they leave a lasting impact on those fortunate enough to read them. In this case, though, said book severely altered the mind of one young, gullible girl.

"Your skin is really pale," she observed one day, prior to her reading of the book, smiling brightly at the girl next to her.

"Yes, thank you for pointing out the obvious, Caterina," her friend snapped, crossing her arms across her chest. "I'm practically the color of milk, I know. I've heard it all before – though I wouldn't expect _you_ to be the one to poke fun at me for that."

"I'm not," Cat pouted. "But, um – have you ever been told that you're, like, the color of snow?"

"Wow, you're original today," Jade snapped in response. "I guess I'll just go find myself a tanning bed so I can be all perfectly tanned like you!" And with that, the dark-headed girl stomped away from the table they were sitting at in the crowded restaurant, her combat boots clicking against the tile of the floor. With a sigh, Beck glared at Cat before chasing after Jade, just as he always did (it was, Cat thought, a game of cat-and-mouse with the two of them, though it was always Beck chasing after Jade and Jade being totally oblivious to the fact that he had been perpetually in love with her for the past two years).

"What was that all about, Cat?" asked her friend Tori, the fourth member of their 'quartet', as Cat liked to call it, from across the table. Tori's eyes were wide, like a wounded deer's might be, and her hair cascaded in perfect waves past her shoulders. She was beautiful, Cat thought, a regular beauty, though she didn't really see it like everyone else did.

"I dunno," Cat murmured, her head slightly downcast. "Do you ever look at Jade and think of snow?"

"Not really," Tori said decisively, ducking her head down to eat some of the vegetables off of her plate. "No, I don't think so. But I can see how you would make that connection, I suppose; her skin is very much like the color of snow. What do you think of when you look at me?"

"Beauty," Cat told her, biting the corner of her lip. "I mean, you're just very beautiful; sometimes I gotta wonder how you don't see it! What about me?"

"Red," Tori replied, her eyes tracing Cat's tendrils of long, red hair all the way down to the halfway point of Cat's back before they snapped back up to Cat's face. "I think of red."

/

Cat Valentine was not typically the type to go to the library. It was, in fact, Jade's idea; she had merely been dragged along for the ride because no one else was willing to go along and wait while she tutored some boy in the area of science. (It was, surprisingly, entirely of her own volition, and partially a volunteer act at that since she was getting paid very little, something that surprised everyone but Cat. Cat knew about Jade's soft side, and she also knew that Jade didn't like anyone to know about it.)

But during the hour that Jade was tutoring, Cat scoured the children's section of the library (her favorite section, in fact), and at last discovered the book of her dreams – _A Collection of Fairytales, _it said on the front. What originally caught her attention, though, was the illustration on the front, an illustration that looked surprisingly similar to… Jade?

With a yelp, she tugged the book off of the shelf and dragged it over to her seat (it was surprisingly heavy for a book, and she was but a weak girl). Once she had the book splayed across her lap, she turned it back to look at the cover, but this time, instead of Jade, the image displayed there was Tori.

"What?" Cat whispered, because it couldn't be. Her eyes had to be playing tricks on her or something. But she blinked, and she blinked again, and the image stayed there, transfixed onto the book. With a shriek, she let go, causing the book to clatter to the ground. But still the cover image was sweet little Tori Vega.

She picked it up again slowly, keeping her eyes on Tori's face, and then she realized that Tori – book Tori – was dressed in a yellow dress that seemed atypical of the girl. It looked like something from the medieval times, honestly. With a raised brow, Cat turned to the first page of the book.

_Once upon a time, _the book began, and it was all downhill from there.

The book spoke of fairytales, of Snow White and her Prince Charming, of Belle and her Beast, of Red Riding Hood and the Wolf, of Cinderella – of fairytales she had heard all throughout her childhood, memorized, but these were different somehow. Perhaps it was the intricate pictures, or the fact that she was so intimate with the people _in _them – because, although she now recognized that "Jade" was actually Snow White, who looked much like Jade, and "Tori" was actually Belle, who also looked much like Tori, the similarities between the two sets of girls could not be overlooked. And then there was Red, Red Riding Hood – who, with her red hood, looked much like Cat herself. It wasn't just that, though – the stories had no end. Literally. Cinderella did not meet her prince; Snow White was not awoken; Red Riding Hood did not save her grandma – the stories just stopped abruptly. The happily ever after was missing, as if it had somehow been stolen.

It was as if something was pounding at the back of her mind. Could this be her? But how was it possible? Fairytales, Cat knew, did not exist, and should she even speak of this, she would be teased mercilessly. But it seemed plausible, somehow. The book was magical – the cover changed, the pictures on the pages were bright, vibrant, and it seemed as if the pictures were moving somehow. If magic such as that could exist, couldn't she be a fairytale character as well?

Then suddenly her watch was beeping and Jade was walking over to her. "Cat," she said, "ready to go?"

"Um, yeah," Cat told her friend brightly, gathering up the book of fairytales and grinning. "Hang on, though – I want to check out this book."

"_Fairytales_?" Jade responded, wrinkling up her nose in obvious disdain. "I mean, come _on_, Cat. Those things were all right when you were five, but you have to know by now that there are no princesses or fairytale lands or happily-ever-afters. There are only girls like you and me and Tori, normal girls."

"I know," Cat complained, "but it's fun to imagine. You should know! I'll only be a minute, anyway."

And so, dreaming of a land far, far away from Los Angeles, Cat skipped up to the counter and placed her book gently on top of it. The lady behind the counter gave her a strange look. "Honey," she said in a tone so quiet it was barely audible, "this isn't a library book."

"Oh," Cat said, glancing down at the book of fairytales. It didn't really seem to belong to anyone, and obviously no one had noticed it was here, so who would notice if it was gone? With a smile, she took it back down off the counter. "Sorry, that's my book. I wasn't thinking! Oh, I'm so silly sometimes!" With a giggle and a wave, she took off after Jade, who glanced at her.

"You checked out your book that quickly?" she inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"Yep," Cat said, shooting a mysterious glance over at her friend. "Some things happen like that, y'know. Just like magic."

/

From then on, Cat spent a lot of her time at home, poring over the book. She read over the story of Red Riding Hood and the Wolf the most, trying to imagine what she would've done in the situation. Probably the same sort of thing. But why was there no ending? How could the story end _just like that _– grandma still in the belly of the wolf, Red Riding Hood still trying to rescue her? It made no sense. Everything had to end sometime. If it didn't, nothing would ever begin.

It was only on the fifth day of her incessant pondering that Jade and Tori staged an intervention. Both of them stood in front of her, arms crossed, eyebrows cocked, glaring at the book she held tightly against her chest.

"This has gotten out of hand," Jade told her, placing a hand on the book. Tori mirrored her action on the other side. "I know you like fairytales and imagining stuff, but Cat –_Caterina – _it's a book, Cat. It's only a book. It's not real."

"And what if it is?" Cat replied, clutching the book tighter to her chest so they couldn't take it from her. "You're wrong, both of you! The book is magic, I swear!"

"It's just a normal book, Cat," Jade replied, exchanging a glance with Tori. "There's nothing _magical _about it, see?" She picked it up and dropped it on the ground. It fell open to its most viewed page, an elaborate drawing of Red Riding Hood.

"Don't you think she looks like me?" Cat pleaded. "Come on, guys – look, really look!"

"I guess," Tori said, biting down on the corner of her lip. "But what do you think this means? Do you think the book is _telling you _that a wolf is going to come and gobble up your grandmother? Honestly, Cat?"

"No! I mean, I hope not. My grandmother's been really nice, taking care of me and my brother." Cat bit down on her lip. "But Tori – don't you think it's a little bit weird? I mean, the _book is magical, _I know it! Just watch, the cover changes." She turned the book to the front cover, flipped it, and then flipped it again, beaming as she realized that the cover had, in fact, changed. "See? Didn't you see? Magic, I'm telling you!"

"Cat, the cover didn't change," Tori said patiently, looking bewildered.

"It did," Cat protested, her head spinning – she knew there was a whole world of magic out there, of things beyond human understanding, written off as coincidences or paranormal activity by people who chose not to see what was right in front of them. She'd never thought Jade and Tori were that type. They were blocking the magic, she thought, either that or somehow charmed not to see it. She wasn't crazy, no; she just saw what other people didn't. She was – what was it called – observant, yes. "You're blocking it! You're choosing not to see the magic because you don't _believe_!"

"What, is this like one of those Peter Pan things?" Jade said with a roll of her eyes. "If we say we don't believe in magic, will you drop down dead?"

"No!" Cat cried. "But you have to believe me, okay? It's just… I know it's true! Those pictures aren't a coincidence, guys! Or… I mean… girls…."

"What are you saying? Do you think _you're _Red Riding Hood?" Jade asked, her voice biting, her tone dark. "If you're Red Riding Hood, then _who _are Tori and I? Lemme guess – I'm Snow _freaking_ White, the helpless little princess that needed her _stupid_ Prince to come save her. Well, let me tell you something. I _won't _be waiting around on any darn guy to come save me. And who do you suppose my prince is, anyway? Some extraordinarily brave prince that will swoop in and save me? _No."_

Cat felt the air leave her at once. She was scared out of her wits, that much was true; Jade rarely ever got _truly _angry with her, and when she did, it was a scary sight to behold. It was odd, she thought, how Jade was getting so angry about something she considered to be only a fairytale – was that normal? Certainly it couldn't be. But why, then, was she so angry? Biting her lip, she managed a feeble, "Snow White didn't wait on her prince. She did what she did to save his life, Jade."

"Yeah, right!" Jade managed a bitter laugh. "And so what, you're _agreeing_ that I'm so hopelessly in love with some boy that I'd practically sacrifice my _life _to save him! Cat, I don't even have a boyfriend! Can't you realize how ludicrous this sounds? And what about Tori! Who is she, freaking _Goldilocks?_"

"Hey!" Tori protested, fingering a lock of her dark brown hair and looking quite offended for reasons Cat couldn't really comprehend.

"You might not now," Cat said, trying to keep her voice level, "but one day you will, Jade, you'll see! You'll have that special someone in your life! And Tori… come see for yourself! Look at the illustrations in this book; don't they look familiar? C'mon, guys, you gotta admit, if this is a coincidence, it's a pretty freaky one!"

"It's exactly that – just a coincidence," Jade said, but she peered over the edge of the book anyway. "So what, now Tori's _Belle_? Are you saying I'm not pretty enough to be her?"

"She just looks like her, that's all!" Cat squeaked, peering down at the illustration.

"I do, don't I?" Tori mused. "But that's still _crazy_, Cat. We're not fairytale characters! We're just normal girls, okay? We're_ twenty-one_, for goodness' sake – there's no way we're freaking Snow White, Red Riding Hood, and Belle. It's not possible."

"For once, I agree with Vega," Jade told her. "Fairytales, magic, true love – all that crap doesn't exist, Cat. You've got to give it up. This isn't freaking healthy. You can't _honestly_ – you can't really believe that we're all fairytale characters. You have taken insanity – come on, Cat, Tori and I are taking you out. Maybe some fresh air will do that brain of yours some good."

"I swear my hair dye didn't do anything to my brain!" yelped Cat – but she was pulled out the door anyway and dragged to Nozu, where the two girls drilled the idea that _fairytales did not exist_ and that she was practically delusional into her head.

Maybe it was possible that this was all a trick of the mind, that the moving pictures were only in her own head, that the similarity between the girls and their fairytale counterparts was merely a coincidence – but no. Cat knew what she had seen. This was not some trick of the mind; this was the truth, and she was going to convince Jade and Tori (or was it Snow and Belle) the only way she knew possible.

By somehow returning the memories of all of them.

/

"Grandma," Cat asked her grandmother, looking up from the book of fairytales. "Do you believe in true love and magic and well, fairytales?"

"Of course, darling," her grandmother said, smiling down at the small, overly energetic redhead. "Your grandfather and I had something like that once upon a time, you know. Before…" She knew what her grandmother was about to say. Her grandfather had died long ago; Cat had never even met him. With a smile, she climbed up into her grandma's lap.

"Tell me about him," she demanded innocently, burying her head into her grandma's shoulder. "I wish I could've met him; he sounds like such a lovely man."

"He was, Caterina," her grandmother confirmed, stroking her long tendrils of red hair. "He loved me and your mother more than anything in the world." Hearing about her mother nearly broke her (her mother had died years ago in a car accident along with her husband, leaving Cat and her brother as orphans), but Cat mustered up her courage and continued to listen. "He wasn't rich, of course, but he had a fairly decent job, and he worked as hard as he could to support all of us. I never thought I would find love, you know, but true love finds you when you least expect it."

Cat nodded, feeling oddly warm – so it was real, then. True love was real. And if true love could be real, why couldn't magic? Jade was wrong; Tori was wrong. This wasn't some stupid coincidence. This was the real deal.

"Thanks, Grandma," Cat whispered, pressing a light kiss to her grandma's cheek. "You've been really helpful." And then, with some hesitation, "Do you think that I'll ever find true love?"

"I know you will," Cat's grandma informs her, patting her granddaughter on the head. "Cat, you're a lovely, sweet, _beautiful _girl. If anyone finds true love, it'll be you. You just don't need to wait around for it, all right? It will find _you_."

"Okay," Cat whispered, twirling around. It was sort of nice, she thought, discovering you were a fairytale character. Besides, her story had only just begun.

/

"Hey, Little Red."

Cat nearly jumped a mile upon hearing the words, and she spun around – who knew? How could they? Had someone regained their memory? But no, it was just the town black sheep, a boy named Andre Harris that she had befriended when the whole town had turned against him. They all thought that he was a murderer, but Cat _knew better_. He was a nice boy; she had taken a liking to him immediately and so he watched after her like a big brother. But it was still kind of odd that he called her Little Red – did he know?

"Why do you call me that?" Cat inquired, beaming at him. "I mean, not that I don't like it, really I do, but just how did you come up with it?"

"Well you're little, and your hair's red," Andre chuckled, seeming amused by her sudden curiosity rather than angry, much to Cat's relief. "It wasn't that hard."

"Oh," Cat said, wondering if there was more to it than that – there had to be, right? And this just added to the pile of 'coincidences' that were pointing toward her actually being Little Red Riding Hood. It had a nice ring to it anyway, she thought. "Well, hey, Andre."

"Would you believe I got chased out of town by an angry mob today?" Andre grumbled, sinking down beside her. "They were all yelling about how I should be imprisoned, in _jail_, but I haven't even done anything. Someone framed me, you know."

"Who would want to frame you?" Cat asked innocently, smiling over at her friend. Andre was so nice, so kind – he would never say an ill word to anyone, she thought. He was respectful of girls, kind to his parents, and extremely talented, along with all of those things. How could anyone want to hurt him? Furthermore, how could they believe him to be a murderer? He was one of the nicest guys she had ever met and the funniest, as well.

"More people than you'd think," Andre replied grimly. "I was sort of popular back in high school, you know – and it wasn't that I was mean, but just that I was _popular_, and that, in itself, made people hold an inherent dislike for me. I shouldn't be surprised that this happened, really."

"It's not your fault," Cat replied in consolation. "People are just really mean sometimes. Evil, I guess you could say! But really Andre, I don't think you deserved this at all. And if it's any consolation – I believe you, and I will always believe you."

Cat wasn't certain of how Andre fit into her new fairytale world, though. He could very well be the huntsman that saved Little Red Riding Hood, only she wasn't sure about how the whole isolation and false accusations fit into that. Maybe if she looked again, she could find a character that looked like him. Maybe she just hadn't been looking closely enough.

"I kinda think it is my fault, Little Red," Andre told her quietly. "I mean, not directly, maybe, but some sort of weird karma, y'know? Because I was really conceited in high school, and maybe not as caring as I could have been. Maybe you're wrong; maybe I deserve this."

"No one deserves this," Cat said strongly. "You didn't do it, Andre! I know."

He looked over at her and wrapped a strong arm around her shoulders, drawing her close. Anyone that saw them probably would have thought that he was her boyfriend, her prince, her knight in shining armor – but Cat knew better. He was like her brother, for all intents and purposes, though they honestly didn't look a lot alike. She didn't think of him that way at all.

"Thanks, Little Red," he whispered into her hair. "You're my solace."

/

On her way home, she took a detour down an abandoned alley. Somehow it wasn't the smartest plan, really, especially since it was becoming dark, but her encounter with Andre had put her in high spirits, and she wasn't really the type to think things through anyway.

Once she was about halfway down the alley, it occurred to her how creepy it was. Shadows were cast over the alley by unknown objects, and she pulled her coat tighter over her body in an attempt to conceal her from the world. Murderers, she thought, were known to hang out in places like this, actual murderers, not Andre – or maybe she should be more concerned about the wolves. She gave a humorless chuckle as she walked on. After all, there would be no turning back now.

"Hey, little girl," a voice cried out, and she gave a frightened yelp, burying her face in her coat. The footsteps came even nearer. "Oh, don't worry; it's not me you should be afraid of. I'm trying to help you, actually – what are you doing in this alleyway at this time of night?"

"I was just trying to get home," Cat whimpered, staring at the ground. "I know where I'm going and everything; I just thought this way would be a lot quicker."

"Probably it would," the voice agreed, "but this isn't exactly the sort of place a pretty girl like yourself should be walking around alone. Mind if I accompany you home? I promise you I'm not a murderer or anything of the sort. My name's Robbie."

"Oh," Cat said brightly. "Hi, Robbie, I'm Cat." As he stepped out of the shadows, she realized that he really didn't look like a murderer either. He had a head of floppy raven curls and chocolaty eyes that gave him an innocent demeanor. He seemed like a typical goofy guy, not too much older than herself. So she nodded. "Yeah, I think I would like that – only are you sure you can protect me?"

"I'm pretty sure, my darling Cat," Robbie said with a laugh.

"Good," Cat told him, satisfied. "Anyway, what are you doing around a place like this? It doesn't, um, seem like the kind of place a guy like you would hang out."

"A guy like me?" Robbie chuckled. "What's that supposed to mean? I suppose with my glasses and all I look a bit funny, but trust me when I say that I'm pretty dangerous these days. Dangerous, as in unstable, all right? Dangerous as in _after tonight _you'll probably never see me again. I'm walking with you because it's the right thing to do, because I don't want to see a pretty young girl get hurt."

"What makes you think I can't stick up for myself?" Cat answered him with a pout. "And anyway, I don't think you seem very _dangerous_. I think you're only just scared of me, which is really kinda ironic."

"Well, for starters, you're dressed in pink from head to toe, and I'm not scared of you! I swear on my life, which really isn't worth very much, that I'm dangerous. Just warning you now." He glanced over at her, his expression solemn, which sort of scared her. Perhaps he was one of the unlikely murderers they showed on television, the type that had been like, bullied all of their life and then went and killed a bunch of people in retaliation. But Cat had never met him before, of that she was certain. In a big city like her own, it wasn't likely that she'd even ever seen him before.

Cat was gearing up to reply when a third set of footsteps echoed down the alley. From between clamped teeth, Robbie whispered, "Get behind me." Scared out of her wits, Cat did as he said.

"Shapiro," a voice said from the darkness. "What are you doing out at this time of night?"

"Helping a lost girl get home," Robbie answered crossly. "And you? I don't suppose you have any excuse for your prowling. It's rather creepy, if I do say so myself."

"That is my aim," the man said, drawing nearer and causing Cat to draw closer to Robbie. "Aw, come on, I just want to see the pretty little girl."

"Stay away or else," Robbie warned, sounding incredibly angry – rather odd for someone she hardly knew, but it wasn't like she was complaining.

"Or else what?" the man sneered. "Are you going to chop me up, Shapiro? Fight me? You know, I'd like to see that, actually." He took another step closer; the sound of metal echoed against the cold cement. Cat felt herself shiver.

"You know what I'm capable of." The statement hung in the air like a warning, like a threat.

"Maybe I don't believe you," was the man's response.

And then it happened. One second Robbie was standing immovably in front of her, like a shield, and then the next he was flying through the air, his clothes ripping off, fur pooling around him so that she couldn't see anything. And then he was on the ground, growling, baring his sharp, terrifying teeth. The – the being standing in front of her was no longer innocent little Robbie Shapiro, but a terrifying, ragged wolf, eyes shining and growl coming from the back of its throat.

"Nice doggie," the man in front of her taunted. "Pretty pooch – " but he could not continue, because Robbie, in wolf form, jumped on top of him, pinning him to the ground. He motioned with his head for Cat to keep going, and that she did, running as fast as her legs could take him, the image of Robbie transforming into the wolf still haunting her. If he was the wolf, and she was Red Riding Hood, where did that leave them?

But no. He had been kind to her, and his violent actions had been only in defense of _her. _He had not even tried to hurt her. She could not bring herself to think of him negatively, not after what he had done for her.

Breathlessly, she arrived at her house at last. With a frown, she seated herself on the step so she could catch her breath and consider what had transpired. She had met the wolf at last, but he had not been what she was expecting.

No, definitely not – not at all.

In fact, the big bad wolf, as she liked to think of him, seemed much more like her knight in shining armor, like her prince.

.

**A/N: This story, in itself, goes along with my weirdo pal Emily's video, called Once Upon a Victorious | Take Me to Wonderland. If I link it, it won't show up, but anyway this is for you, Emily! Love you babe xxx 3.**

**This is only the first chapter; next up is Jade. If you guys have any predictions, let me know in a review! But I've got a lot planned so I hope you enjoy it.**

**Please read and review and don't fave without reviewing!**


	2. Chapter 2: Jade (Snow White)

Once Upon a Victory

_Chapter 2: Jade West (Snow White)_

_/_

Jade pressed the play button on her voicemail, then scrolled through endless telemarketers until she came to a voicemail from Cat. Immediately, the slightly annoying redhead's voice poured out of her cellphone. "OMG Jade, you'll never believe what just happened, actually probably you won't, but you should! So I met this guy named Robbie, and well, he seemed like, really nice and stuff, but then he turned into a wolf, okay? An actual wolf! It was to protect me, you know, but do you think that maybe he could be my –" The beep sounded, cutting off Cat's incessant chatter, and Jade let out a sigh of relief. This whole fairytale kick of Cat's had gotten out of hand; now she was practically delusional. Seeing boys that turned into wolves – as if!

The next message on her voicemail was from her _extremely annoying_ stepmother. She blabbered on about how she ought to come home and visit her and her father (as if) and how she missed her (yeah freaking right). Her stepmother had been the main instigator in the coalition against letting Jade achieve her dreams, and sometimes Jade thought she'd be just as happy to be rid of Jade, Jade's father, and Jade's younger brother Jeremiah. After all, Jade's father was about as rich as they came. He was the CEO of his own franchise, and besides that he had a quite a good return from the stock market. And if all three of them were to mysteriously vanish – well, suffice it to say that it would not negatively impact Jade's stepmother, Evil Amy, as she liked to call her, at all.

Jade was not inclined to visit her stepmother and her father at all, so she deleted the messages and sighed, leaning back against her bed. It was true that she shared a lot in common with Snow White, but evil as Amy might have been, Jade didn't think she'd go to the extremes that Snow White's stepmother did. Besides, Jade didn't have a prince anyway, and did Snow White even have a little brother? Honestly.

And anyway, she'd have to go see them soon for Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving, her dad said, was a time for family, and as much as she hated her 'parents', she did care deeply for her younger brother, especially since their mom had died not too long ago. And so she sacrificed her comfort to go spend some time with little Jeremiah, who was basically as cute as little boys got.

A soft thudding on her door pulled her out of her thoughts. Hoping it wasn't Cat, she pushed herself to her feet and pulled open the door, gearing herself up to slam the door in her face if it was Cat on the other side. It wasn't.

"Jade," Beck Oliver greeted, smiling brightly at her.

"Oh, hey, Oliver, what are you doing here?" Jade inquired curiously, raising an eyebrow at the boy as he stepped in. "Actually, how'd you get in? Don't _tell _me I left the door unlocked."

"That's my secret," Beck said ominously in response. "Anyway, Cat said you were feeling down or angry or something, I only listen to about half of what she says, really, so I brought over a DVD in case you, um, wanted to watch it." He scratched the back of his neck and grinned at her.

Beck had been her next-door neighbor for as long as she could remember, and when she moved into her apartment, he moved to one near her, just down a floor, actually. He was, she supposed, semi-attractive, or at least everyone else thought so, because everywhere he went there were girls falling all over him. He was generally considered to be somewhat of a cool guy, but Jade knew better – she thought he was an absolute dork, albeit one of the few dorks that didn't totally annoy her. His adoptive parents were nearly as rich as her own, moguls, he called them, but their parents honestly didn't get along at all. They had somewhat of a rivalry, not on a scale as big as that of the parents of Romeo and Juliet, but big enough that their parents didn't approve of their friendship.

Jade had never cared, and neither had Beck. He wasn't even their blood, anyway, he'd been adopted when he was young for reasons Jade didn't know (word around town was he'd rescued his now little sister from a raging river), and besides that he had never cared much for money or fame. It was that fact that made him refreshing and interesting to talk to, different than the loads of famous children her parents had subtly 'encouraged' her to talk to. (Not her parents, really, just her dad, and now her annoying stepmother as well.)

"What DVD did you bring?" she inquired, glancing over at him. With a grin, he held up _Snow White and the Huntsman. _She resisted the urge to facepalm. "Please, tell me you're kidding. I've had enough of fairytales, _especially_ Snow White."

"Because of Cat?" Beck teased, a glint in his dark eyes. "Don't tell me you believe in her latest conspiracy theory, Jade – or should I say, Snow White."

"Hm, if I'm Snow White, then who are you, Prince Charming?" she teased, raising an eyebrow at him in curiosity. It was ludicrous, sort of, thinking of Beck as her prince, but he was, after all, the princely type. He had an odd sort of confidence that emanated from him, and he was, in essence, the perfect gentleman, not overly talkative or rude, but nice to nearly everyone, although he could, at times, be fairly conceited and self-centered – all very prince-like qualities. The only thing that didn't add up was thinking of herself as Snow White, the idiot that took an apple from her evil stepmother, knowing she was being hunted – could anyone be so stupid? Jade was smarter than all that.

"Hey," Beck said with a grin. "If you ever fall into a deep sleep because you ate a bite of an apple, I'll be sure to kiss you and wake you up, all right? I'm sure I'm charming enough." He winked at her, still grinning in his own special cocky-confident way.

"You're an idiot," she groaned, grabbing the DVD from his fingers. "Come on, let's just watch the dumb movie, and I'll be sure to critique every aspect of it, and by that I mean point out every single _stupid _thing Snow White does. She's basically an idiot in my honest opinion. I'm more of the Evil Queen type – ha, maybe Cat's wrong and I'm the evil stepmother!"

"Right." Beck grinned. "You're the evil stepmother with an evil stepmother. And who would Snow White be then? _Tori_?"

"No, Tori's Belle or, as Tori oh-so-conceitedly calls herself, Beauty." She gave a small laugh. "Don't you listen to anything Cat says?"

"I think I only hear about every other word that comes out of her mouth," he confessed with a shrug. "Anyway, if this movie is too much for you, we can stick to the Disney version. I'm sure I have it on tape somewhere, and the musical numbers will do you some good."

"No thanks," Jade replied, groaning. "The cliché princess stuff makes me want to vomit even more so than the real life versions, and at least this one might have some action." She rolled her eyes. It was scary to think of herself as the princess type, all girly and proper and – as if! She much preferred being herself, as abrasive and terrifying as she might be.

So, with a grin, Beck put in the DVD, probably delighting in the fact that he was watching a princess movie with the ever-so-tough Jade West. In response, she rolled her eyes placidly – could he possibly get any cheesier? Perhaps every girl in the world desired his love; it would hardly make him any more attractive in her eyes.

The two of them collapsed on her bed, Beck setting a bag of tortilla chips in between them. Jade smiled slightly; it was just like Beck to take care of her. Although her father was rich (and fairly generous as well, at least when it came to her), Jade was very prideful and did not much like to depend on his riches. He paid her tuition, at least, and a few other bills, but Jade was all on her own for the other things. She tutored a little bit here and there, but was only paid minimal wage, and sometimes she gave Cat some money as well, since Cat lived with her elderly grandmother (whose only money came from Social Security checks).

In essence, she thought, it was nice to be taken care of for once. She dug in, not bothering to thank him aside from a small smile she tossed his way – he knew she was thankful, she figured; he knew practically everything there was to know about her. The movie started up, the title rolling across the screen, and Jade braced herself for the worst.

The worst never came. Of course, at times Snow White, the titular character, could be annoying, but that was to be expected, considering Jade's loathing for Kristen Stewart. But she wasn't quite as helpless as Jade had originally thought, and in the end she led an army into battle, something that Jade had thought the Disney Snow White incapable of. Perhaps Jade had more in common than she thought with this _Snow White_, although she had to admit she still couldn't bring herself to believe Cat. It was all just so insane – a twenty-one year old education student being Snow White? Yeah, right!

"You look like you're deep in thought," Beck told her, a smirk on his face. "Penny for your thoughts?"

"No, but I'll tell you anyway," she responded absently. "It's about the whole fairytale thing again, I suppose. You know, it just seems crazy that Cat could think I'm Snow White. Me? I'm irrelevant! I tried to bust into the entertainment scene and I was just that, a _bust_, and now I'm a freaking education major despite my disdain for children. How could I be a princess? And anyway, how would I tolerate twelve little men? _Honestly, _Beck, you really can't believe that…"

"Calm down," Beck whispered, placing his hands on her shoulders to hold her steady. "Look, Jade, I know you've got a soft side, especially for, um, dwarves, because they're fascinating or whatever. Isn't that coincidental? And also, remember how in the Disney Snow White, whenever Snow White sang, all the animals in the forest would respond to her voice because of how beautiful it was? I think you've definitely got that much in common, and then, of course, there's your beauty…" He trailed off, his eyes meeting hers.

And then she was leaning in before she could stop herself, her lips moving closer and closer to his, her eyes never leaving his. There was something intense in his gaze, something unfathomable, and she wanted to know, wanted to find out what it was –

Just before their lips met, though, she froze. Her brain was on overload, and then suddenly in her head she was what she had been missing. There was Beck, though admittedly he didn't look much like Beck, seated on a throne or something that looked a lot like one, having a crown lowered onto his head. There was a smile on his face as he was crowned, and he bowed 'modestly' to the people in front of him as he applauded. The crown itself was intricate, adorned with hundreds of little jewels, interwoven with silver. He looked handsome as he stood and waved to the cheering crowd, and there was a man beside him that looked an awful lot like his… adoptive dad.

Jade blinked hurriedly, trying to get the image out of her head, and then her vision cleared enough for her to see Beck staring at her, looking worried. "Jade, is everything all right?"

"Yeah, sorry, but I, um, think you need to go," she said quickly, placing a gentle hand on his chest. "Thanks for the movie and the chips, and I really am sorry about this. There's just some… stuff I need to clear up." As she looked at him, at his perpetually perfect hair and the smile curving at the edges of his lips, all she could picture was the boy from her vision, a crown on his head, and she had to wonder if maybe Cat wasn't so far off after all.

"Oh, well, okay," he said with a forced smile. "Not gonna force myself on you but… I'll see you later, right?" He grinned hopefully at her, planting a quick (friendly, right?) kiss on her cheek and exiting, leaving her by herself to think.

Her vision, she thought, was the weirdest part of this whole thing; it hadn't seemed like her imagination, but rather like a flashback, like something she'd seen before. But it was weird – she had never seen Beck getting crowned before, not that she could remember. Why would he be crowned? Sure his parents were rich, but they were hardly _royalty_. It just didn't add up, unless…

She rolled her eyes, thinking that to even be giving Cat's ridiculous ideas a second thought, she _must_ be insane. It had been a delusion – just that, a delusion. Not some flashback, not some divine interference, but just a delusion, sprung from her unconscious mind.

But still she could not help thinking that it had seemed so very real, so very detailed. Could it have possibly been _just a delusion_?

/

She loaded her last bag into the trunk of her admittedly very run-down car, sighing as she shoved the last one in and mustering up all of her strength to force the bags far down into the trunk. She slammed the door to her trunk close, sighing in relief as she headed around to the front of the car; it was, she knew, going to be a very long day. Dealing with her stepmother was always exhausting, but she did try – if not for her father, for her little brother.

She hopped into the car and started up her engine, sighing again as she headed down the road, this time out of dread. It wasn't a long drive, really; she hadn't opted to live far away from her first home, though she couldn't imagine why. It was like there was always something tying her to that place. Yet she hated it, loathed it with every inch of her body – never wished to live there again. It held too many bad memories.

As soon as she pulled up at the house, she realized with some trepidation that there was to be no welcoming committee. Only her younger brother, a blur of dark brown hair, tan skin, and big blue eyes (despite the fact that he'd been adopted as a baby, they, coincidentally, looked a lot alike), ran down the porch steps to greet her, embracing her tightly. "Jade," he mumbled into her shirt, "I've missed you."

"I've missed you too, kid," she said with a laugh, pressing a gentle kiss to his cheek. "How is everything and, um, everyone? Is Evil Amy still…?"

"Yes, and she's only gotten worse!" Jeremiah exclaimed eagerly, his blue eyes alight as if this was something he'd been hoping to talk about for ages. "I have a theory, Jade; you have to let me tell you! Because you see, I found this book in the library and –"

"Hang on, Jem, let me get inside and put my stuff down before you attack me with another of your conspiracy theories," Jade told him with a chuckle, ruffling his brown curls. He had always been the more adorable of the two; with his wide-eyed gaze and brown curls he could get away with practically anything he wanted, and even though he was eleven now he still looked childlike. Much to Jade's dismay, though, most of his attention was focused on the latest conspiracy theory, whether it be aliens coming to earth or McDonalds controlling people's brains, and although he was very smart, Jade felt he was wasting much of his attention on such pointless things.

With a nod, he followed her in, clutching her hand tightly as if to protect her somehow. It was then that Evil Amy descended the grand staircase, her dark hair flowing behind her and her dark eyes framed with black eyeliner, making her look all the more intimidating. Jade straightened up, holding little Jeremiah's hand a little tighter and looking her evil stepmother, as she liked to call her, directly in the eye.

"Jade, how nice it is to see you," Evil Amy greeted her in a clipped tone. It was always like this; Evil Amy hardly paid her any attention after the initial greeting, though. True to form, Evil Amy turned to Jeremiah. "Jem, won't you take Jade up to her room? She must be exhausted after her journey."

Jade wasn't sure how a twenty-minute car ride translated to an exhausted journey, but she accepted the invitation to escape her stepmother anyway. Jeremiah had always been Amy's favorite child; that much she never bothered to hide. Jade didn't blame her for that much, anyway; she had never been the easiest person to deal with. (Other things, she did not hesitate to blame her for.)

As the two siblings ascended the staircase, Amy made sure to call to them, "Be sure to be down for dinner at seven-thirty sharp, dearies!" Jade gave a nod, and then quickly walked up the rest of the stairs, Jeremiah trailing closely behind her. Once they reached the top, she sighed.

"So Amy's still basically the evil stepmother no one's ever wanted?" Jade inquired as Jeremiah opened the door to her room for her.

Jeremiah gave a small, sad shrug. "Of course, not like she'd ever change really. Anyway, put your stuff down, get unpacked. I gotta go to the bathroom, but _then_ I wanna tell you about my latest theory! It has to do with you and Amy too; I think you'll enjoy it!" And then, like a little mouse, he scampered out of her room, leaving her to her own thoughts again.

She shook her head and grabbed the clothes out of her suitcase, piling them in the drawers. If she was lucky, she wouldn't even have to stay the night; however, she knew that her stepmom would insist on it, and like a whipped puppy, her dad would agree. She did not understand her father's love for the insipid woman in the least, but she had to tolerate her – there was no other way.

Footsteps sounded as her brother bounded back to her room, clutching a slightly familiar leather-bound book. Jade stared at it in wonder; it looked much like the one Cat had been holding for days upon days. But it couldn't be, surely her little brother couldn't have come up with the same theory Cat had.

"Come over here!" Jeremiah exclaimed, seeming more excited and animated than she had ever seen him. "I know this is going to sound crazy, okay, but see, this is a magical book, and…" He grinned, flipping to the first page. "And just look here, okay? There's you – you're Snow White, of course, and doesn't she look just like you? And the stepmom, she looks just like Amy, and just as evil too! And of course the father! Can't you see, Jade?"

Jade tried not to roll her eyes. "Come on, Jem. You honestly believe that I'm Snow White? I mean, you know my personality, everything about me… how could I possibly be that prim little princess?"

"If you'd read the story you'd know that Snow White wasn't a prim little princess!" Jeremiah exclaimed. "I mean honestly, Jade, she led her people into battle and _fought_ because they held her prince in captivity. In fact, I think she was probably the baddest princess of them all!"

"Baddest isn't a word," she said with a chuckle, tweaking the young boy's nose, "but I'm glad you think me capable of all that. Just one question – say I am Snow White, say Amy's the Evil Queen, and all of this is true… how did I get _here_?"

"The forces of evil, of course. They wanted to put us in a world without magic!" Jeremiah exploded, his mouth turned up in a grin, probably thinking she was finally on her way to believing. "Come on, Jade! You've got to admit this is all kind of scary."

"It just seems so impossible, Jem," she muttered, falling back onto her bed. "I mean, come on. I'm not a fairytale character! I'm a girl who went after her dream and fell flat on her face. I don't even have a Prince Charming!"

"What about Beck?" Jeremiah asked quietly. Jade knew that Beck and her brother got along well; they had also grown up next door to each other and Beck had become like Jeremiah's older brother during that period of time. Jeremiah, she knew, really looked up to Beck. But it was still startling to hear him imply that there could be a romantic aspect to their relationship. "He's a really good guy, Jade, and I think – I _know_ he loves you a whole lot, plus you gotta admit that he looks like the Charming in the book! You can't just write him off like that!"

"I can," Jade told him, and then she groaned. "Look, Jem, I know you're really into this _conspiracy theory_ or whatever, that it interests you, but you've gotta admit there's some flaws in your logic. Like our dad's not dead and evil as Evil Amy is, I don't think she'd kill our dad or try to kill any of us, okay? Just…" She sighed, rubbing her temple. "I don't know, Jem. You've gotta admit it's kind of ridiculous."

"I'm not crazy," Jeremiah shouted frantically behind her. "Jade, don't listen to Evil Amy or Dad; you have to believe me! I'm not crazy!" She shut the door behind her, muting his shouts. Of course she felt a little guilty, but he had to realize how ludicrous this whole thing was.

/

By the time dinner rolled around, Jeremiah had all but forgiven Jade, and was back to his normal effervescent self. He chattered incessantly about much safer topics, such as the latest football game and how his soccer team had beaten their biggest rival, shying away from the controversial stuff that had gotten both of them so worked up before. He was interrupted only by Amy, who told him to speak less and eat more like a gentleman. (Jade bit her lip to keep herself from scoffing – as if Amy was a lady anyway, how could she tell Jeremiah off for that?)

At last, she turned her attention to Jade. "So Jade, what have you been doing with your life after leaving us?" It was meant, she knew, to embarrass her, but things like this rarely embarrassed Jade.

She sat up a little straighter before answering. "I've been going to school to be a teacher, actually."

"Really? And how did you decide to do that?" Amy asked, raising one of her perfectly waxed eyebrows.

For a second, Jade sat in silence. It was odd – she couldn't remember why she had decided to become a teacher. She could remember the classes, long ones that seemed to stretch on forever, and she could vaguely remember stuff before that – playing with Beck at a young age, becoming friends with Cat, grudgingly accepting Tori – but her reasoning for her choices, none of that was really clear. It was as if the choices had been made by someone else, like the memories had been implanted into her brain. But no, that was ludicrous.

"I guess it just seemed like the right thing to do," Jade replied nervously. "I mean, teaching kids is a hard job, but someone's got to do it, and I'm exactly that no-nonsense type to keep them under control." Had that really been her reasoning? How could she not remember?

Rolling her eyes, Amy turned back to her husband, who was about to take a sip out of his glass of wine. "NO!" When everyone turned to look at her in alarm, she laughed quietly. "I mean, that's mine, lovely husband. This one is yours." She pushed another glass of wine towards her husband.

"Oh," said Jade's father, seeming confused but obviously not wanting to cause any trouble. He took a sip of the wine Amy had pushed toward him. "Well, this isn't bad," he said with a nod. "Thanks, honey."

Disgusted and confused, Jade took a sip of her drink (non-alcoholic, she noticed, even though she _was_ twenty-one), sighing as her family reluctantly slipped back into normal conversation (well, what would have been normal conversation, had they been any other family). She was still slightly suspicious, though; her stepmother was quite obviously up to something. It was just that she couldn't figure out what it was quite yet.

/

After kissing her brother gently on the forehead and tucking him in, Jade slipped away to her room and dressed herself in her silkiest pajamas, an odd sort of comfort on a day such as this. She retired to her room and slipped under the covers, ready for a night of relaxation and escaping from her problems.

That, though, was when she heard the scream.

Alarmed, she jumped out of her bed and skittered down the stairs to her father and stepmother's bedroom. She could hear weeping even before she entered the room, and once she walked in she saw her stepmother, head in her hands, tears flowing from between her fingers. Quietly, she inquired, "What is going _on_?"

Wordlessly, Amy pointed to the bed. Jade crept over to it to find her father asleep there – or was he? She pressed her fingers to her forehead to find he was ice cold, and no matter how many times she touched him, talked to him, squeezed him, he would not respond. It was evident now that he was – he was _dead. _ She could hardly bring herself to think the words. Shaking, she inquired, "How did this happen?"

"He must have had a heart attack or something," Amy sobbed. "I don't know; I awoke to find him like this – unresponsive, cold…"

"Dead," Jade cut in. "Aren't you going to call the hospital – you know, for an autopsy? So we can find out what _actually_ killed him?" She was still shaking, partly from fear and sadness, partly from anger. It was starting to become evident to her what had happened.

"There's no need for that, Jade," her stepmother said, sounding much calmer now. "There's nothing to be done, after all. He's gone, and I'm so very sorry…" She broke down into tears again. "Jade, I don't know what we're going to do; I'm sorry…"

"I'm so _sure_ you are," Jade hissed, acid coating her voice. "Except you're not really, are you, because now you're all but privy to his fortune, and once I've been disposed of you'll have his entire fortune, won't you! I can assure you that I _won't _let that happen, Amy. You might be rid of my father, but you'll never be rid of me, because I will fight to the last."

Suddenly something happened. Amy got to her feet and glared daggers at Jade, her voice sounding very odd as she responded, "You've always been a feisty one, haven't you, Snow? But I assure you – soon I will be the fairest and richest in the land, with a son who loves me, and I will be rid of _you_, pretty princess. So go on your way!" Just as soon as it had happened, Amy sunk back down and resumed crying.

Jade was shocked – had she just called her Snow? Scared, she ran up to her room and buried herself in her covers, choking down sobs as she did so. She didn't want to see Jeremiah's reaction when he found out, didn't want to deal with any of what was to come. But one thing was still very clear in her brain – something was going on here, something that was practically inexplicable, and only one person could _truly_ explain this whole situation to her.

With still-shaking fingers she dialed a number, and on the third ring the person picked up. Trying to keep her voice level, Jade said, "Hey, Cat, it's Jade. Tell me again about this curse?"

/

**A/N: I don't think Snow White's dad actually dies, but he's going to in this fic. This chapter isn't my best really but I hope you enjoy it anyway. And there was some Bade too? Please read and review, thanks.**


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